Index



E. W. DAVIS.

INDEX.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. IB, 1920.

Patented Sept. 27, 1921.

Ilz/autor* ZY/75er UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE.

ELMER W. DAVIS, OF NEWTON CENTER, lMIASSACH'U'SIETTS, ASSIGNOR TO SHAW- WALKER COMPANY, OF MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

Impex.

Patented Sept. 27, 1921.

Application filed December 18, 1920. Serial No. 431,530.

To @ZZ/whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ELMER W. DAVIS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Newton Center, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Indexes, of which t-he following is a speciication. l

This invention relates to improvements in indexes, and more particularly to an im'- proved index card for use in card illn systems, for the purpose of designating t e divisions or sub-divisions of the file, 'according to the particular method employed. Inasmuch as the common method of designation is by the letters of the alphabet, such a system will be referred to in describing the features of the invention.

A card filing system is ordinarily designed to be flexible, in the sense that it is capable of being increased or expanded to accommodate the increasin amount of sub-ject matter tovbe filed. his is ordinarily accomplished by increasing the number of divisions or indexes, and introducing greater refinements in the system of index designanarily encountered by the tions. As a preliminary step to convenient expansion, a type of index card has been adopted whereby different index designations may be applied, and readily removed and altered, with the result that anyblank card or number of cards can be fitted into a system by the user by simply inserting the desired designation within the pocket or slot rovided in the tab of the index card, as will iiereinafter' be set forth. The difficulty ordiuser is the absence of the desired designations, with the result that the manufacturer or dealer is compelled to maintain a supply of small inserts bearing the various index designations that a user may order from time to time. In order to. eliminate loss of time and ex ens to user, and manufacturer, and dealer, 1 1s proposed to provide each card with a series of designatlons printed thereon, any one of which may be cut from the body of the card and inserted in the tab. v

Having described generally the purpose of the invention, a preferred arrangement of a card will now be described in detail, and

, with reference to the accompanying draw.-

in in whichy igure p 1 1s a View 1n front elevation,

showing a card with a tab insert cut from the card and placed in the tab.

F ig.' 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 2, 2 of Fig. l, and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of the tab with insert removed.

An index card 1', which is understood to be a blank card having a tab 2 along its upper margin, serves as a partition or division between sets of le cards bearing the same general designation appearing on the tab immediately in front or to the rear, as the case may be. In this capacity, the card is not intended to receive entries, but serves merely as a support for the tab and the index designation. The tab as preferably formed on the upper siSts of a folded strip of celluloid or other transparent material 3, which extends over and covers a tab extension 4 formed from the material of the card. The strip 3 extends lengthwise beyond the tab extension` and toward the adjacent upper corners of .the card, and is pasted to the front and back faces thereof. The outer sideedge is trimmed to secure the desired shape of the tab, and an openin slot 5 isformed along the side edge provi ing an entrance opening `to a longitudinal pocket extending to the transverse edge of the tab extension 4. of the card. Obviously, `within this pocket may be removably inserted any one of a number of slips or inserts of corresponding size, which bear the index designation desired. p

As a convenient illustration ofthe manner in which these index designations may be obtained, there is printedl along the lower margin of the card a series of rectangular divisions 6 marked by means of parallel lines 7 and transverse lines 8, the dimensions of each division corresponding exactly to the size of the pocket of the tab. On each 0f these rectangular divisions is printed a designation, as for instance," the letters of the alphabet from A to Z.

Assumin that the user of a card index s 1stem wis es to use the index card with the letter H, forinstance, as thedesignation, he would then cut the rectangle with the letter H thereon from the card, with a scissors or knife, and the desired insert or slip 9 is available for insertion into the tab. 'In the same manner anyk other slip. bearing the desired letter may be cut from the card, to the end that a complete series of slips may be at hand for immediate use. Mani dicating the scope thereof, what I claim as" new and novel is- 1. An index card having a marginal tab comprising a pocket adapted to retain a removable insert,'of a series of index designations printed on the body of said card, and adapted to be cut therefrom to provide said insert.

2. An index card having a marginal tab comprising a pocket adapted to receive a removable insert bearing an index designation, a series of index designations printed on the body of said card, and guide lines associa-ted with each designation whereby it may be cut to form an insert for said tab.

3. An index card having a marginal tab kguide lines arranged to permit a tab inse-rt bearing the desired index designation to be cut therefrom.

4. An index card having a marginal tab comprising walls of transparent material having an entrance slot to the space between said walls, and a series of index designations printed along a margin of the card body, and lines surrounding each designation, whereby the severing along lines associated with one designation provides an insert for said tab.

In witness whereof I hereunto subscribed my name this 15th day of December, A. D. 1920.

` ELMER w. DAVIS. 

